


Coffee and a Snack

by EscapingReality51



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Coffeeshop AU, Flirting, M/M, Maria is there but there is no Maria/Michael happening, and supporting each other, background Liz and Max, backroom smooches, longing looks, look I wanted to write Alex and Michael falling for each other and being cute together, scientist!Michael, veteran!Alex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EscapingReality51/pseuds/EscapingReality51
Summary: Alex is just out of the army and stops by a coffee shop that Liz works for with her boyfriend Max, when he sees someone working furiously in the corner and can't help but want to meet him.a.k.a the Coffee Shop AU I wanted to write for my mamma floof April to make you smile on your birthday <3
Relationships: Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 12
Kudos: 107





	Coffee and a Snack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rooftopprendezvous](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rooftopprendezvous/gifts).



Alex stands in the queue, eyes on the menu above the counter but his thoughts on the room he just left, the suits and the loaded questions and the desperate need to find something to do now that he is out of the army. He knows it went alright - he smiled and said the right words and tried to sell himself as a good choice for the position but he has no idea if it worked. That’s what nags at him the most; the uncertainty and the waiting, the wondering if you were good enough. 

“Alex, great to see you!” 

He looks up and sees that he is standing about a meter and a half from the counter, no one in front of him. Liz is smiling at him, a dark green apron tied around her waist that matches with the lettering on the menu. 

“Good to see you too, Liz.” He walks forward, leans against the counter to take pressure off his leg. “Maria mentioned you working here.” 

Liz smiles. “Just while I’m working on getting a grant for my Ph.D.” 

She looks so similar to what she looked like in high school, sharp eyes and a broad smile. Alex hasn’t seen her since getting back from Iraq and seeing her brings up memories he had not thought about in years. It’s a comfort he didn’t know he had missed.

“Anyway, what can I get you?” she asks and he moves towards the counter.

“Black coffee, please.” 

Liz repeats it to the broad-shouldered man behind her. 

“I was about to take a break now, why don’t I come over to your table? We need to catch up,” she says as he pays.

“Sounds good, I’ll look forward to it.” 

Alex finds a table along the wall of the café and takes a seat, smiling at Liz as she catches his gaze. She looks happy. There’s a glow to her smile, especially when she looks at the guy standing behind her - that must be Max. Maria had alluded to his existence and their relationship, but Alex wants the details from Liz. 

The café is very cute, filled with small affirmations on chalk boards and small succulents on every table. It is 2 pm on a weekday so it isn’t so surprising that the place isn’t packed with people; there is someone reading a book with a coffee untouched in front of them, and what Alex guesses is a couple of students working and - one of them has taken up two tables. 

He’s got soft curly hair and a look in his eyes so intense that Alex worries that he’ll burn through the screen. His clothes are a little ratty and his mouth is in a hard line as he looks for an article on the table next to him. Alex can’t help but look a second longer at the cute guy scrunching his face at his screen.

“You let students take up several tables at a time?” he asks when Liz sits down opposite him with his order. 

Liz follows his gaze and shakes her head a little. “That’s Max’s brother, Michael. Writing his thesis in Biochemistry, only a few weeks left before the deadline.” 

The conversation shifts, Liz asks about Iraq and he asks about her research and the room around them drifts away, but occasionally Alex looks over at Michael and wishes someone would look at him like Michael does that screen. 

“What’ll you have today?” Max asks. 

It is a few days later and Alex comes by after his second interview. They really seemed interested this time, but Alex has a nagging feeling that it’ll fall through. He wants a coffee and a chance to think.

Alex looks over Max’s shoulder but is overwhelmed by the options and falters, brain scrambling to catch up. 

“Take your time, not as if anyone’s in a hurry,” a voice says behind him. 

Alex turns around to see Michael standing behind him, arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping on the floor. 

“Sorry, can’t decide... “ Alex lets his gaze wander down to the arms, the outline of Michael’s chest. “You can go in front, if you want.” 

Michael eyes him suspiciously but nods once, moving ahead in the queue. 

“You’re busy,” Alex notes. 

Michael looks at him. “Noticed that, huh?” Something in his voice makes Alex’s face flush a little.

“I might have.” 

Their eyes meet and Michael’s mouth lifts in a smile in a way that draws Alex’s eyes down to look. 

“Here’s your green tea,” Max says, breaking whatever invisible force was drawing Alex to stare shamelessly at Michael. Michael nods and takes the small tea pot out of Max’s hands. 

“I thought students ran on coffee?” 

“Had to mix it up a little,” Michael says. 

He walks away and gets to work, but shoots Alex a small smile before he starts typing again. 

Alex is standing at the counter, waiting for Max to finish making his drink when he looks back and spots Michael.

He is leaning his head against the wall behind him, eyes closed, brow furrowed. Alex has obviously never done what Michael is doing; he did intelligence work for the military but knows nothing about Biochemistry. It looks like Michael’s taking a few minutes to sort through his thoughts and maybe Alex wouldn’t be interrupting if he walked over and said hi. So he does, at least, in his own way. 

“What’s this?” he asks.

Michael opens his eyes and moves his head forward from where it was resting against the wall. 

Alex points down to the pictures - graphs - spread out on the table between them. 

“I’ve been used to looking at military encryption and what’s worse but this looks like something out of this world.” 

Michael shifts in his seat. He looks tired, both mentally and physically, but he smiles at Alex’s interest. “It’s for my thesis.”

Alex smiles back. “What topic?”

Michael runs a hand through his hair. “You sure you want to know?”

“Would I be asking if I didn’t?”

Michael’s mouth curls into a smile. “It’s NMR spectroscopy. It’s a way of seeing proteins, their structure.”

Alex meets his gaze and puts his hand on the back of a chair, waiting until Michael nods once to pull it out and sit down. 

“So what do the points mean?”

“Each point is the transfer of magnetisation from a proton to another nucleus, these spectra are all HSQC spectra of this protein I’ve been studying for the past few years,” Michael says. There’s a fire in his eyes as he speaks, an interest so burning that it lights up his features. “By linking these I can determine the amino acid sequence. And with this,” he says and takes out a whole file of graphs, all impossible for Alex to decipher, “I can determine how the protein reacts to being in different environments.” 

Alex is already lost, but Michael is speaking with such force of interest that Alex can’t help but want to know more. 

“I’m sorry,” Michael says, “I must be boring you.” 

Alex smiles. “No, definitely not.” There’s something incredibly sexy about someone so blatantly intelligent, it makes him want to listen to Michael for hours. Michael blushes and it is wonderful that someone so confident can be so vulnerable at the same time. 

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” Alex asks. 

Michael’s face falters slightly. “I, erh…” he stops, putting a hand on his neck. “This deadline is really tight and -” 

Alex should’ve known. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “I shouldn’t have presumed -” 

“You didn’t,” Michael says. His face is kind when Alex looks up again. “I just don’t have much time for anything social right now.” 

Alex can’t blame him for that. “I’ll let you get back to it, then.” 

Michael does, becoming absorbed in his work so quickly it is almost terrifying. 

Alex walks up to the counter and gets his coffee, pretending to read a book while he does so but his mind is quietly occupied by something else entirely.

He makes a plan to get a drink with Maria and Liz on one of Liz’ breaks. The accounting firm had decided to go in a different direction and it stung; Alex had been a useful member of society and now he felt like he was floating through life without a goal or reason to get up in the morning. Maria reckoned he needed some cheering up. 

Maria was always a bright spot in his life; she had made it through some hard times and she has managed to keep smiling, to keep finding joy and new experiences. Maybe Alex needs some of that too. 

“How’s your mother?” Alex asks. 

Maria’s smile falters a little, not enough for people around to notice but Alex knows her, sees it instantly. 

“She’s really happy in the new care home, they take good care of her. She has made friends and… I think it’s good for her to be there, you know?”

Alex reaches a hand out and squeezes hers on the table. “Her memory?”

Maria looks down. “I can see it slipping but she keeps smiling, and that’s all I could want. For her to be happy.” She takes a deep breath and looks at him, that enduring grin back. “Enough about me, I thought we were here to talk about you.” 

Alex doesn’t really know what to say. “I’m looking for jobs and it is tough but, I’m not even sure I want a corporate job. I spent so long behind a desk after my accident but now I don’t know. I think I want to do something else.” It’s not eloquent or that coherent but it’s been going through his mind for a while now. 

Maria asks the question he’s been fearing. “Well, what do you want to do?” 

“I’ve started playing the guitar again, after I got back.” He can tell that he is smiling as he speaks. “It is wild how much of it I remember from High School, my brain hasn’t forgotten how to play.” 

Liz joins them at their table now. “You’ve started playing guitar again?” 

Maria nods enthusiastically. 

“You know we have an open mic night here once a month? People come and play some music, read poetry, all that kind of stuff. It’s really fun, we get a lot of people coming in.” Liz is looking at him with that look, at once encouraging and thrilled. Alex only feels slightly scared. 

“I wouldn’t even know what to play,” he says. 

“You can play a cover, or if you have it then you can play something original…?” Maria smiles and the question lingers in the air. 

Alex refuses to reply. 

“Look,” Liz says, “it’s in two weeks, so you have some time to practice, if you want to play. We have a clipboard for sign ups on the counter for seven days before, and you can even sign up on the night.” 

Maria places a hand on his, and now it is his turn to be comforted. 

“You can find a job - you need an income - but if you enjoy playing music then don’t stop, okay?” 

Alex knows that what she is saying is true, but for some reason it is terrifying to admit that he does enjoy it; more than anything since he got back, it has given him direction. 

Alex thinks about it for ten days. It makes his stomach turn to consider performing in front of strangers and, even worse, friends. He’ll be judged and he’ll be vulnerable and it doesn’t even really matter if he plays well or not. It isn’t a fear of failure that plagues him, it is a fear of being seen. 

He walks into the café on a quiet afternoon to just let himself consider; the clipboard is beside him as he considers what he wants. Michael’s sitting at his usual table, a pen behind his ear as he furiously types on his keyboard. After Alex orders a drink their eyes meet and Michael smiles. 

“Here’s your green tea,” Max says as he brings it down, and there’s a smug smile on his face that Alex can’t quite place. 

Would it be so bad? 

He’s written a few original songs, and he knows from Liz that people often have a 10-15 minute slot, nothing more. They’re quiet songs with soft, emotional lyrics that Alex knows would make him nervous to play in front of anyone, but it makes him damned happy. 

“If you stare at the counter any more, my brother will think he made you the wrong order.” 

Alex looks up to see Michael by his table, a hand on the back of the chair. 

“Green tea, huh?” Michael says with that same smile as Max; their faces are wildly different but the expression reads the same, even if Alex doesn’t understand it yet. 

“I thought I’d give it a try, I hear it is calming,” Alex replies. 

Michael pulls out the chair and sits down. 

“So, I overheard Liz talking the other day, something about you considering signing up for the open mic night?” 

“When did you -”

“Look, I sit here every day and Liz is chatty,” Michael says. 

Alex can’t argue there. “It isn’t even such a big deal,” he says. Michael doesn’t argue with him, just waits for him to continue when he’s ready. “I’ve never played for anyone, not even in High School. I’ve always wanted to play music, but wanting to and actually doing it are very different things.” 

“What did you do after graduating?” Michael asks. 

“Army,” Alex says. “My whole family went to the army, I just got back from Baghdad.”

Michael nods a single time. “Takes a lot of bravery to go to war in the first place. A small group of strangers who aren’t out to kill you will be a walk in the park after that,” he says. 

Alex doesn’t know what to reply. 

“I’d love to hear you,” Michael says. 

“You’ll be there?” Alex asks. 

“My deadline is the day after tomorrow, so I’ll be coming here to celebrate after.” 

The turning of his stomach has shifted to nervous butterflies. 

“Anyway, I should get back to work,” Michael says, getting up. “I hope to see you there.” 

Alex drinks the tea, which really isn’t so bad, and waits for a minute before walking up to the counter, and signing up. 

Alex walks into the café with his guitar case in hand about half an hour before he is supposed to go on. 

Someone’s on stage singing an acoustic cover of a popular pop song and it is really good. So good it makes Alex want to turn around and bolt, but then he spots Liz and Max behind the counter and they smile so widely that he can’t back down. 

“I’m so glad you came!” Liz says. 

Max smiles behind her, arms wrapped around her waist. “You’re up after the next person.” 

Alex nods; he has been counting down the minutes with dread. 

“Place is pretty packed,” he says, and hopes his voice doesn’t betray him. 

“Yeah, we usually draw a little crowd like this.” 

Little isn’t sufficient, not in Alex’s world. The floor in front of the make-shift stage has chairs lined up, and almost 50 people are there, by Alex’s estimation. He can’t see an empty seat. 

“Michael’s here too,” Max says, and Liz elbows him in the ribs. 

Alex pretends he doesn’t notice. 

“Is there somewhere I can check the tuning before going on?” he asks. 

Liz points him to the back room. 

It’s the store-room of the café; there are rows upon rows of coffee beans in bags, flour and sugar for baking, and any other item they sell. He sets the guitar down and paces around the room, trying to calm his nerves. His hands are shaking, and he knows that if they keep shaking he won’t be able to play as well as he wants. Not that walking usually helps but he can’t stop thinking about what is about to happen.

Why did he sign up for this? What was he thinking? 

There’s a small knock on the door, and Michael opens it. The sound of clapping follows him inside, and it doesn’t help Alex’s nerves. 

“So,” Michael says. 

“So,” Alex echoes. 

“Nervous?”

Alex rolls his eyes. “No, I’m just in here trying to find the right coffee bean for my next latte.” 

Michael laughs. It’s a wonderful sound, and for a brief instant, Alex forgets himself. 

“I think,” he says, eyes shining, “you need to take your mind off it.” 

Alex nods, “I know but I can’t make my mind stop.” 

Michael takes a step closer. “Whenever I play the guitar, I feel like my mind disappears. It is one of the only things that makes my head more quiet.” 

“You play?”

Michael nods. 

“I feel the same, it’s as if I can just be me when I play…” 

“Well then,” Michael continues, “you should just focus on that.” 

Alex paces around the room again. “Well, there are 10 minutes before I go on stage, so I need to distract myself before then too.” 

Michael takes another step forward. 

Alex stops in his tracks. 

Their eyes meet and Alex feels a heat rise in his chest that has nothing to do with the upcoming performance. Michael’s eyes are darker, his features are softened by the lighting of the storeroom, and he’s staring at Alex like he wants nothing more than to distract him. 

So he does just that. 

Michael’s in front of him in two quick steps, and he frames Alex’s face between his hands and brings their lips together in one seamless motion. Alex grabs onto Michael’s shoulders and then he just leans into it.

There’s an intensity to Michael’s lips that Alex has never felt before, but all he can do is match it in kind, pushing against him and opening his mouth until his tongue is behind Michael’s teeth. It’s fiery, burning a hole in Alex’s nerves until all he can feel is Michael pulling him closer, wanting him so fiercely. 

Minutes pass with their heated kisses turning softer, tender, and filled with a promise of something more lying underneath. If Alex could kiss Michael for the rest of his life, he knows instantly that he would. 

Alex’s chin feels a bit raw but he still presses in, still places his upper lip between Michael’s, still breathes him in with his nose against Michael’s cheek. There is nothing but Michael around him, on him, with his arms around him. 

A knock on the door brings him back to reality. 

Liz peaks a head in the door and Michael and Alex spring apart but keep standing inches away, hands intertwined. 

She smirks. “Alex, you’re on in five.” 

Alex’s eyes go wide. “Right, yeah. I’ll be out in two minutes.” 

Liz grins as she looks between them. “Might want to fix your hair before then,” she says, and Alex swears. 

Michael presses a gentle kiss to Alex’s lips before smiling at him. 

“You’ll be fine,” he says. “Can I take you out after?” 

Alex smiles. “Yes, you can.”

He stares out at the crowd as he sits on the chair holding his guitar on his lap. His nerves are fluttering but they’re dampened by excitement, for tonight, for his music, for whatever is to come. He takes a deep breath, and starts strumming. 

He plays the intro to his first song and before he starts singing, he looks up and spots Michael in the crowd next to Maria, Liz, Max, and even Isobel, Michael and Max’s sister. He has so many friends present and for once, that thought makes him happy rather than anxious. He’ll find a way to keep afloat, but for now he has found something he enjoys again, something that makes him feel like he has something to contribute to the world.

With a final breath, he starts singing. 

**Author's Note:**

> any kudos, or comments, are very much appreciated! I'm escapingreality51 on tumblr


End file.
